AcousticMan
New member
Im going to be shopping for a new acoustic soon. I need amplification, but sometimes the guitar you find with that great tone just dont have pickups...any advice on a good add on?
Pickups: built in or add on
- Thread starter AcousticMan
- Start date
TexRoadkill
Audio Bum
freshmattyp
New member
I am personally fond of Soundhole pickups like the Fishman Rare Earth or the EMG ACS. I've had much better luck with those rather than the under the saddle variety.
Light
New member
Your have five options when it comes to after market amplification.
Under Saddle Pickups
These can be had either with or without an internal preamp. Without, they will require an external preamp to sound acceptable. With, there are many choices. The Fishman Matrix is the most common, and an excellent choice. The L.R. Baggs and the Highlander are very similar, and very good. These MUST be installed by a qualified tech, as the installation is a bit tricky, and requires routing the saddle slot to insure a perfectly flat and true contact for the pickup.
Magnetic Soundhole Pickups
Very similar to an electric guitar pickup, in both design and sound. There are many choices out there, but the undeniable favorites are the Sunrise and the Fishman Rare Earth. Magnetic pickups have long been the choice of many fine guitarists, including Leo Kottke, and as half of Michael Hedges system.
L.R. Baggs iBeam
These are fairly new, and as near as I can tell, they are piezo pickups mounted in a housing which is attached to the bridge plate of your guitar. I not have seen enough of these to really comment on them much. They are more prone to feedback, however.
Combination Systems
Is exactly that. A combination of multiple systems. The most common choice these days uses a piezo pickup and a small microphone inside the guitar. Less common is a magnetic pickup with a microphone. Michael Hedges used a Sunrise magnetic pickup with a Hot Dot system, which is remarkably similar to what Taylor is doing with their new system. Both Fishman and L.R. Baggs are making combination systems. Personally, I feel that very few players are going to get enough benefit from these systems to make them worth the money you put into them (well over $500 after you buy all of the components and pay for the installation). They can sound amazing, but if you are not using them frequently, you will not be able to learn them well enough to really get the most out of them.
A Microphone
The old stand by. Learning to play in front of a microphone is hard, as they are very particular about getting a consistent placement. As a player, I hate having to stand still, as an engineer I hate the feedback problems, and the inconsistency of the player moving around. If you can handle it, it will sound more like YOUR guitar than anything else, but it is a giant pain in the ass.
As to what I prefer, I like the Fishman Natural 1. I feel it has the perfect price/performance ratio. It will sound good enough for any live situation, and is resistant to feedback. They make another model, the Natural 2, which is designed for playing in a band situation, but I think you have a wider range of options with the Natural 1. I can use EQ to make the guitar fit in with the band, but I would rather use a little subtractive EQ for the band situation than a little additive EQ for the solo situation.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
Under Saddle Pickups
These can be had either with or without an internal preamp. Without, they will require an external preamp to sound acceptable. With, there are many choices. The Fishman Matrix is the most common, and an excellent choice. The L.R. Baggs and the Highlander are very similar, and very good. These MUST be installed by a qualified tech, as the installation is a bit tricky, and requires routing the saddle slot to insure a perfectly flat and true contact for the pickup.
Magnetic Soundhole Pickups
Very similar to an electric guitar pickup, in both design and sound. There are many choices out there, but the undeniable favorites are the Sunrise and the Fishman Rare Earth. Magnetic pickups have long been the choice of many fine guitarists, including Leo Kottke, and as half of Michael Hedges system.
L.R. Baggs iBeam
These are fairly new, and as near as I can tell, they are piezo pickups mounted in a housing which is attached to the bridge plate of your guitar. I not have seen enough of these to really comment on them much. They are more prone to feedback, however.
Combination Systems
Is exactly that. A combination of multiple systems. The most common choice these days uses a piezo pickup and a small microphone inside the guitar. Less common is a magnetic pickup with a microphone. Michael Hedges used a Sunrise magnetic pickup with a Hot Dot system, which is remarkably similar to what Taylor is doing with their new system. Both Fishman and L.R. Baggs are making combination systems. Personally, I feel that very few players are going to get enough benefit from these systems to make them worth the money you put into them (well over $500 after you buy all of the components and pay for the installation). They can sound amazing, but if you are not using them frequently, you will not be able to learn them well enough to really get the most out of them.
A Microphone
The old stand by. Learning to play in front of a microphone is hard, as they are very particular about getting a consistent placement. As a player, I hate having to stand still, as an engineer I hate the feedback problems, and the inconsistency of the player moving around. If you can handle it, it will sound more like YOUR guitar than anything else, but it is a giant pain in the ass.
As to what I prefer, I like the Fishman Natural 1. I feel it has the perfect price/performance ratio. It will sound good enough for any live situation, and is resistant to feedback. They make another model, the Natural 2, which is designed for playing in a band situation, but I think you have a wider range of options with the Natural 1. I can use EQ to make the guitar fit in with the band, but I would rather use a little subtractive EQ for the band situation than a little additive EQ for the solo situation.
Light
"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
riley357
HR MUSE
AcousticMan
New member
Everyone, Thank you so much for the advice. Light, thanks for covering the bases. I feel I can begin shopping with a good information base. Again , everyone...Thanks, Barry